September is basically January and we’re officially rechecking our goals for the year. Summer is over, Fashion week is here, and we cannot help but have our own version of back-to-school feelings.
We want a new outfit, a set bedtime, healthy lunches, and a hair and skincare routine designed to make us look like our most nourished, glowing, healthy selves.
If we had only four months left to lock in on our goals, this is what we would start doing immediately.
1. Book the haircut
Get rid of the dead ends and start completely new. We’re not scientists, but we’re pretty certain this has life-changing power.
There is something about freshly cut hair that makes everything else feel a little more together too.
2. Add one item specifically for your scalp
Taking a hair reset seriously can be as simple as adding a clarifying shampoo.
Use one weekly to remove buildup, flakiness, days of dry shampoo and everything else that has quietly collected on your scalp. It helps bring back the natural vitality in your hair.
A true reset.
3. Simplify your routine
Seven products you forget to use help you exactly zero.
Your blowout cream, leave-in conditioner and heat protectant can all come from one item. Find products that do more than one job well and make your routine easier to actually stick to.
4. Ditch the items you got at the Sephora sale
Like the top from Zara you got for $10 but doesn’t fit quite right.
We’re guilty of it too. Filling our carts with products because Hailey Bieber uses them, the packaging is chic or TikTok convinced us we needed them immediately.
But the hard truth is, if it isn’t actually meant for your hair, you’re probably just going to end up unsatisfied. A product being good doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you.
5. Dry shampoo, no more than two days in a row
You don’t need more. You need to wash your hair.
Dry shampoo is great at extending your style, but at some point it stops being a shortcut and starts becoming buildup. Consider day three your sign.
6. Skinify your hair routine
When you prep your skin after your shower, prep your hair. When you brush your teeth at night, brush your hair.
Building small steps into routines you already have is the easiest way to make them stick. Do it now and your hair will be thanking you by the end of the year.
7. Rotate your products
The anti-frizz cream that kept your natural texture looking like a beachy goddess all summer isn’t necessarily going to give you the same wow when it comes to fall and cold-weather styling.
Your wardrobe changes with the season, and your hair routine probably should too.
Most hair products are very shelf-stable, so tuck it away until your tropical vacation mid-winter or next summer rolls around.
8. If you don’t have a heat protectant, now is the time to get one
We don’t stop wearing sunscreen in the winter, and the same thinking should apply to heat protection.
It’s an investment in the long-term health of your hair, especially as we move into the season of more blowouts, hot tools and polished styling.
Protection up to 450 degrees is a must if you have blonde or colour-treated hair.
9. Clear out the products you’re not using
Those conditioners with half an inch of product left? She’s done. That almost-empty travel-sized salt spray? Either use it now or send it packing.
A clean-out gives you a much better sense of what you actually have, what you actually like and what you actually need. It also makes it easier to recognize when a new product would genuinely benefit your routine instead of simply adding to two years of clutter.
There is something deeply satisfying about opening a cabinet and only seeing products you actually want to use. You do not need daily reminders of the styling routine you started two years ago and never stuck with.
10. Get one item that makes you excited about your routine
It could be eucalyptus in your shower, a new hair accessory or the brush you’ve been coveting for months.
Sometimes one small thing is enough to make you actually want to participate in the care and routine again.
It’s the adult version of getting a new notebook for the first day of school. Did you need it? Maybe not. Are you suddenly much more committed to becoming your most organized self? Absolutely.
